Russian Communists have drafted a bill that would allow the president to cancel treaties with nations that impose sanctions of Russia, including international borrowing contracts in government and private sectors.

The main sponsor of the bill, Communist MP Vyacheslav Tetekin,
told the press he was motivated by certain articles in the debt
agreements between Russia and foreign countries, which allows
creditors to demand full debt repayment “if the financial
state of the borrower or the country where the borrower is
registered deteriorates sharply.” The lawmaker said he
feared this was what might happen to a number of Russian
companies and banks impacted by sanctions introduced in 2014.

“As a result of intensified capital outflow and debt
repayment, we could deplete all our reserves by the end of 2016.
After this, international creditors would receive property rights
for our banks and companies as we would be unable to repay the
debts,” Tetekin was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

The lawmaker added that in his opinion Western sanctions
blatantly violated international law and called for reciprocal
measures “in the form of reprisals.” It would be a just
move to suspend all contracts with sanction-wielding countries
and organizations, he added.

The United States, the European Union, and nations, such as
Australia and Japan, introduced sanctions against Russian
individuals and companies in early 2014 as a reaction to Russia’s
alleged involvement in the military conflict in southeastern
Ukraine. Russia replied with its own sanctions on officials and
politicians who demonstrated anti-Russian views, and also with an
embargo on agricultural produce from nations supporting the
sanctions.

Earlier this year, several top Russian officials, including
presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, said sanctions will
never force Russia to change its policies. Peskov referred to
them as “a double-edged sword” that, while causing
certain discomfort to the Russian economy, were also hurting
businesses in the countries that introduced them, not to mention
the world economy as a whole.